Silence their howling
Frantz Fanon once wrote: “National liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of nationhood to the people, commonwealth: whatever may be the headings used or the new formulas introduced, decolonisation is always a violent phenomenon.” Now, many decades after Africa’s political independence from the West, these words find their way into the minds and hearts of the country’s angry and dangerous demagogues.
They menace the populace, strutting around giving public talks and press conferences in the name of the most powerful political movements of our time. These buffoons show neither respect for the rights of others nor courtesy to our elders. Instead, they incite racial intolerance, polarising our society even further.
How long will we suffer their patronising? They discuss revolution at shebeens and pubs while sipping their most expensive booze, yet claim to carry the aspirations of our people. They get drunk on their delusions of power, corroding their capabilities for critical thinking. They claim to be making ideological progress, but they are simply reinforcing malicious stereotypes that have long imprisoned our modern world.
These power-hungry hatemongers have the loudest voice and claim a monopoly of intellectual space. These loudmouths go under the guise of the “black revolution” while promoting actions that, in effect, would loot the daily bread from the people they claim to represent — the poorest of the poor. In their myopic self-interest they have a narrow view of the complex sociocultural, economic and geopolitical situation, and they are blind to the terrible consequences of their words and actions.
If these pseudo-intellectuals are dominant, our society has a duty to resist their greed and self-centred political ambitions. We have a collective responsibility to claim back our power and our sanity if we are to achieve the democratic ideals for which our heroes and heroines fought. — Wandile Goozen Kasibe, Cape Town
It is interesting that the ANC Youth League could go so far as to insult Malusi Gigaba, a former president of the league, in the way it did. The league is living up to its promise that those who have differing views will be isolated and attacked by its members.
That is not what the ANC taught us. We engage and convince one another through discussion. Surely the league remembers that the ANC national general council said we should not insult one another through the media?
What do we expect from a group that howls at the president of the ANC when he is clarifying party positions to the membership? What lesson is to be learned by us loyal members of the league when our leadership is so ill-disciplined and arrogant?
The leadership of the youth league must understand that the tail cannot wiggle the head; it is the other way around. If they are so unhappy with Gigaba’s views, they should invite him to Luthuli House and engage with him, not fill the media with insults.
What is most shocking is the reference to Gigaba’s leadership of the league as weak and with no programme. In fact, it is saying to South Africa that the league of Gigaba and Fikile Mbalula failed its generation and failed the masses of our young people. This is far-fetched and false.
The present leaders of the league should stop, lest we betray ourselves while discrediting our former leaders and trying to score cheap political points that will never take the revolution forward. — Ntuthuko Makhombothi, ANCYL member
Protector of the Constitution
Our chapter-nine institutions: the South African Human Rights Commission, the public protector, the Independent Electoral Commission, the auditor general, and so on, are the vanguard of our democratic values.
The latest rip-roaring work by the public protector caught many by surprise in that it was able to uphold the institution’s constitutional mandate to do its job independently, without fear or favour. The devastating report on the two police leases has made the public protector’s office more popular than the government itself.
Saying “well done!” is particularly necessary at this critical juncture in our democracy, when it seems transparency and accountability are foreign concepts to the majority of public representatives. There is an ongoing failure of consistent, effective and decisive leadership to sustain and protect the Constitution.
As James Madison noted: “A popular government without information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, perhaps both — a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
The hope and prayer of many South Africans is that the current incumbent of the public protector’s office will keep up the momentum. — Abongwe Kobokana, Cape Town
Long-term loss for short-term gain
Through several decades of disastrous decision-making, politicians have made the future of the West an unthinkable economic and social nightmare. With vast and unsustainable debt accumulation and by allowing capitalism to grow unchecked they have brought Western economies to their knees (“Debt deal a coup for elite“, August 5). The East is now assured of future global domination in trade and tactical warfare.
What has gone so wrong and why? Western politicians are remote from reality; they are reactive and not proactive and do not have a broad enough spectrum of knowledge (most are lawyers). They place too much power in the hands of their richest and most powerful corporations, do not think of tomorrow, have too many fingers in the corporate pie and are complacent about long-term Âsocioeconomic sustainability.
Short-termism in the interests of corporate greed and quick shareholder profits have ultimately caused economic decline. In contrast, China’s stability and long-term economic strategy have not wavered in 30 years.
Western politicians should look in the mirror and see who is really at fault for the economic abyss now facing the West. Overall, the people have been well and truly misled, taken to the cleaners by a politico-economic system that principally supports the rich to the disadvantage of 95% of the West’s law-abiding citizens.
Politicians have to take note that their citizens may not be law-abiding for much longer; there is a limit to what they can accept. — Dr David Hill, executive director, World Innovation Foundation
Zuma, please show some leadership
When will we see President Jacob Zuma leading us, beyond what Moeletsi Mbeki has described as a “song-and-dance leadership”? (“Leadership debate haunts ANC”, July 29.) We don’t have a clue who, exactly, is leading us: the ANC Youth League, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe, Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi, or whoever in the alliance is in the mood to spit?
The youth league has made Zuma a laughing stock by continually throwing mud at his leadership. All of it has been met with silence from Zuma. Recently, on the radio, youth league leader Julius Malema said an uneducated person cannot lead because he/she will easily succumb to political pressure. It was a calculated attack, because Malema mentioned it immediately after telling listeners he had completed some of his academic studies at Unisa and had enrolled for a bachelor of arts degree. And we all know Zuma dropped out of school.
We would expect that issues of national interest that have an impact on the integrity of the country (such as the alleged shenanigans by Co-operative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka and the reports by public protector Thuli Madonsela, to name just two) would be matters in which we would get decisive leadership. But again, Zuma has failed. South Africa now finds itself in an embarrassing position with Botswana, following the hogwash that came via one of Zuma’s political concubines – Malema.
In spite of the outcry Zuma remains silent on everything that requires clear leadership, be it as president of South Africa or as head of the ANC. – Lwazi Mtshiyo, Johannesburg
Beware of Britain
With a multitude of tourists heading to Britain for the 2012 Olympics, a question hangs on many lips: How dangerous is the country?
Britain is a place where rioting appears to be commonplace. Each day at least a dozen people are admitted to hospital. Important politicians are cutting their holidays short, pregnant women can’t get to hospital and buildings are burning down left, right and centre.
In the run-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup British newspapers were happy to convey a terrifying picture of South Africa, so what’s the harm of poking a bit of fun at them now? The Sun told its readers about “Cape Town’s culture of gangsters, drugs, rape, robbery and a murder every 25 minutes”. Well, how about pointing out London’s culture of chavs, riots, violence and looting?
Should athletics fans fear for their lives at the Olympics? No, but keep in mind these helpful safety tips:
- Keep your car locked while driving at night;
- Don’t stop for looters trying to stash things in your car;
- If you go out to eat, make sure the restaurant’s windows are shatterproof;
- Don’t buy things from the side of the road. If it’s a good deal, well, then don’t be too fussy;
- Take precautions by wearing hoodies, allowing you to blend into a mob if need be. Learn some anarchist slogans, just in case you are challenged;
- Most importantly, don’t annoy the chavs by talking about football (or, even worse, by calling it soccer).
But don’t be afraid if you do get caught in a mob. Their riot police aren’t like ours. There will be no rubber bullets, tear gas and, heaven forbid, no water cannons, because that’s not “the way we police in Britain”. On second thought, Britain seems a pretty good bet if you’re into anarchy. When’s the next flight? — Ines Schumacher, Johannesburg
Not just brothers
Please stop calling a collection of legal people “the legal fraternity”. It would be more equitable to say “the legal fraternity and sorority”, but perhaps “legal community” would be simpler. — Dr Jillian Carman, Johannesburg
Friday fails French
I thoroughly enjoy the Friday section of the paper, but please keep up your standards of proofreading and stop the rot of mangling foreign languages.
I refer to the incorrect version of Marcel Proust’s novel title, which I don’t think Nadine Gordimer would have perpetrated, (“Memory sparks the flames of creative invention”, Friday, August 5). The title is of course A la Recherche du Temps Perdu and not La Recherche du Temps Perdue. — Margot Beard, Grahamstown